


crossed wires

by haetae



Series: wanderer from the steppe [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: ARR Thancred is a Fool, Cultural Differences, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Misunderstandings, Nonverbal Communication, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 02:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20250682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haetae/pseuds/haetae
Summary: The Scions, luckily enough, are patient when Masaki stumbles his way through conversation with naught but nods and brief, pidgin hand signs. Well, at least some of them. Not all are as understanding as Minfilia, and he’s had more than his fair share of misunderstandings.One such misunderstanding is staring at him.





	crossed wires

**Author's Note:**

> set before Ifrit, while the WoL is still pretty new to the Scions.

Eorzean body language is such a mystery to behold.

For one, their words and actions are almost always at odds with each other. Their mouths say one thing, but their fidgeting hands say another. It makes discerning one’s true intent much more difficult (and _ aggravating_) than expected. Another thing is that their body language is far more guarded or subtle than that of the Qestiri. Deciphering tics is like finding an entirely different thing instead of the original thing you meant to search for. 

The Scions, luckily enough, are patient when Masaki stumbles his way through conversation with naught but nods and brief, pidgin hand signs. Well, at least some of them. Not all are as understanding as Minfilia, and he’s had more than his fair share of misunderstandings.

One such misunderstanding is staring at him.

Thancred leans against the stone wall, arms and legs crossed, and looks as though he wants to have a casual chat when the air around them is anything but casual. He isn’t sure why Thancred has called him into this… secluded spot in the Waking Sands, nor the reason behind his intense scrutiny. His face is maddeningly neutral enough that Masaki can’t get a decent reading on his mood, which is strange. Why is Thancred trying to look unaffected when there is something clearly wrong? He certainly doesn’t feel _ positive_, judging from the tense set of his shoulders.

“I’ve known Minfilia for a long time, you know,” Thancred says, snapping Masaki out of his thoughts. “Ever since she was a child, I’ve looked out for her.”

Masaki stares. Minfilia hasn’t talked much about her relationship with Thancred, if at all, but he knows enough that they are, at best, distant. Suddenly, he is wary of whatever he plans to say next. 

Thancred unsheathes one of his knives and flips it in his hands. Masaki isn’t sure why he is showing off right now.

“I taught her some self-defense. How to handle a knife if things get too much. I even gifted her one, before the Scions came into being.”

His eyes flick towards the knife in his hand meaningfully. There is a message here, but… what is it? Whatever it is, it must be important. Why isn’t Thancred telling him what the problem is? Masaki waits, hoping that he’ll come out and say whatever’s on his mind.

“Minfilia is a very capable woman. She has done much and more for the realm in these past years than anyone else has, save Louisiox,” Thancred continues, admiration clear in his tone. His eyes are soft for a moment, but then they turn hard like stone when they flick up to meet Masaki’s. “Her compassion for her fellow man is her greatest strength, yet I fear others might exploit it for their own gains.”

Masaki stares blankly. That’s… an understandable fear, he supposes. He’s still not sure what this has to do with him since this is more of a conversation to have with Minfilia, not Masaki.

Thancred starts to toss and catch his knife without nicking himself, somehow, and its shine catches Masaki’s eye for some reason. Did he get those recently polished or something? After a while of this, he stops tossing his knife and catches it by its handle.

“Well? _ Do _ you have certain designs on dear Minfilia?” Thancred asks, point-blank. 

Masaki blinks as slowly as his mind. A few more moments pass in silence while he processes the question that came out of Thancred’s mouth. He opens then closes his mouth, unsure how to respond. What the hells does he mean by “designs on Minfilia”? Is that some weird Eorzean saying? He’ll have to ask Minfilia about it after this nonsense.

Thancred narrows his eyes a fraction―Masaki has taken too long to reply―then shrugs. “It isn’t difficult to put two and two together. Your little meetups aren’t as subtle as you think they are.”

Masaki blinks slowly, again. Thancred knows about their teatime meetings and thinks they’re… doing secret things together? The most they do during those meetings is drink tea and trade gossip, maybe teach each other parts of their respective culture. And it’s not like they keep _ those _a secret. More importantly, how is this Thancred’s business?

“Um,” he says. “Okay.”

Thancred puffs up his chest and tries to look taller, despite being a few ilms shorter than Masaki.

“Let me be plain. If you break Minfilia’s heart, I will not stand by idly.”

A long silence follows.

Wait. So… Thancred is assuming Masaki is trying to… woo Minfilia? Minfilia, who has been an older sister figure to Masaki since he joined the Scions? How can he possibly see her as anything but _ family_, or at least a very generous benefactor, let alone a romantic interest? Is that why Thancred is acting strange? Because he feels protective of Minfilia? If so, this… is a really roundabout way of threatening someone. He isn’t sure why Thancred has bothered to say so many things when he could’ve voiced his concerns much earlier. Maybe it’s actually a prank of some kind?

He looks around to see if any of the other Scions will pop up. But he finds none because he and Thancred are essentially huddled up in a corner, where there are few hiding places. Masaki turns back to Thancred, whose face is as still as the sea before a storm. Wait. _ Wait. _ Is he being serious?

Disbelieving giggles bubble up his throat. Surely he doesn’t _ actually _ think that Masaki is some potential suitor pining after Minfilia, right? Then Thancred’s expression turns _ glacial _ and that’s when Masaki well and truly loses it. He outrights laughs at him.

“… I’m starting to feel offended,” Thancred grumbles while Masaki cackles.

His laughter starts to die down, at least. Slowly recovering, he tries to meet Thancred’s eyes. But, as soon as he sees the dumbfounded expression on his face, he can’t help dissolving into hysterical giggles. 

At one point, Masaki mimics Thancred’s posture to an uncanny degree and twists his face into a constipated expression before clutching at his sides with another wheezing laugh. Then, strangely enough, he starts to mime slashing and—

It dawns on Thancred that Masaki is mocking him. He scowls, then sheathes his knife.

“Alright, alright, you’ve had your fun,” he says. “Am I missing something here?”

It takes a moment for Masaki to stop giggling, but he manages. He fixes Thancred with a deadpan expression and shakes his head.

_ I don’t like Minfilia in that way_, he signs in clear, plain gestures. _ Besides, I like men. _

He emphasizes the last word by spreading his fingers as he touches his thumb to his forehead, then to his chest in an overt gesture. Then he raises his eyebrows.

Thancred blinks slowly, and utters a quiet “oh.”

Masaki rolls his eyes. His hands are slow when he signs, if a little exaggerated. Thancred gets the sense that Masaki is being sarcastic.

_ I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, but that was dumb of you. _ He punctuates his point by tapping his temple and raising an eyebrow at him. Thancred feels sheepish, and maybe a little foolish for his behavior. Masaki continues, _ I know we haven’t known each other for long, but don’t pick on me like that. _

Thancred could argue that it wasn’t fair of Masaki to mock him either, but he doesn’t have a foot to stand on in that particular argument. Not that he would pick a fight over something so childish. He clears his throat, ignoring the sudden heat flooding his cheeks.

“… Forgive me for my suspicions,” he says. “I realize it was… unbecoming of me.”

Masaki huffs. Then he leans in and lightly pats Thancred’s cheek with a gentle smile, much to his astonishment. Is that supposed to be a gesture of forgiveness, or is he mocking him further?

“Is ok. Jus’ dun do it again,” Masaki rasps. Thancred almost jumps at the sound of his voice―it’s jarring to hear him speak at all. He tries not to dwell on how gravelly and warm it sounds.

“… Alright then,” he says, swallowing thickly. “Duly noted.”

Then Masaki jolts as though he remembers something and leans away.

“Oh, needta meet Minfilia soon.”

He gives Thancred a brief wave before walking away. Thancred is left staring blankly into space, unsure what to make of Masaki in general.

Well, one thing’s for certain: he’s… interesting, and, more importantly, _ not _ romantically interested in Minfilia. Usually his gut feeling about people isn’t wrong, but maybe the added stress of taking on so much Scion work along with Masaki’s recent induction into the organization led him to… speculate. It does give him a sense of relief that being wrong hasn’t backfired on him with devastating consequences, this time.

Hopefully, the fellow is kind and understanding enough to forgive and forget their little exchange. He rubs the back of his neck and wanders off to run other errands.

* * *

“Whas… ‘designs on Minfilia’ mean?” Masaki asks slowly, unsure if he is treading dangerous social grounds.

Minfilia pauses, sets down her teacup, then folds her hands in her lap.

“Did Thancred say something to you, my friend?” she asks instead. Masaki blinks rapidly. She must be a mind reader!

He sets his drink down for a moment to gather his thoughts before meeting her eyes. Might as well come clean.

_ He thought we were courting each other and tried to look scary. I thought it was funny_, he says with a little smile, his hands jaunty and playful like his attitude. After a moment, he scrunches his brow. He tries the sign for _ court _ again, his fingers slowly moving through the gesture, and adds: _ is this right? _

The corners of her mouth twitch, as if she’s torn between laughing aloud or preserving some decorum. Well, at least this explains the strange leading questions Thancred has been asking her as of late. She settles on a nod and an amused huff, and takes another dainty sip of her tea.

“Yes, that’s the right sign. Honestly… I don’t know when he got it in his head to be my defender against unwanted suitors, but I’m past the age for that sort of nonsense.” Minfilia sighs, then she reaches over to squeeze one of his hands in a silent apology. “Forgive him for his—”

“Is okay!” he chirps, voice cracking on the high pitch. He squeezes her hand back gently. “I think it was cute.”

She blinks owlishly at him. “… Cute?”

Masaki giggles and nods. He leans forward in his seat, as though he means to share a secret.

“He is…” he makes a vague motion with his hands, as though to compare their heights. Minfilia lets out an unladylike snort. In Thancred’s defense, midlanders are built shorter than Xaela au ra by nature. “… so is cute.”

Then he leans back in his seat and takes a sip of his milk tea, soothing his throat. Minfilia makes a strangled noise and laughs helplessly into her hands. 

“I hope he wasn’t too _ charming _ in his questioning,” she drawls, rolling her eyes at the word _ charming_. 

He shakes his head. “He is jus’ funny. And cute.”

That’s thrice he has said so. She starts to wonder if Masaki somehow finds Thancred attractive. Which… would be a disaster in the making, if she thinks about it. She leans forward and rests her hand on Masaki’s shoulder, much to his confusion.

“Masaki, _ please _ don’t actually fall for Thancred,” she half-begs, half-jokes. “He is like a foolish older brother. I would not wish that upon anyone.”

He laughs nervously. “Is ok! I jus’ look. No big deal, no big deal.”

Minfilia sighs, amused if a bit bewildered. “Well, on the off-chance you _ do _ happen to fancy him, I put forth the offer to sneak unmentionable things in his belongings if he fools around with your heart.”

He chokes on his tea as Minfilia grins pleasantly. He feels cornered, somehow.

“_No!_ No, is ok! ‘M not his kind—”

She grins wider. “Oh? Have I mentioned that Thancred also fancies _ men_?”

He sinks lower in his seat, wishing that the earth swallows him whole so he can escape this torture. His cheeks are on fire. He wishes his head would stop replaying the scene when he told off Thancred. _ Besides, I like men_―he’s not sure if he’ll ever look him in the eyes again.

“Shtop.”

Minfilia laughs gently. “I yield, for now.”

Masaki relaxes in his seat and smiles weakly. Maybe this little fluttery feeling will dissipate with time and he will go back to seeing Thancred as a funny little man. He takes a sip of his drink with that thought in mind.


End file.
